859B.7962/89
The Chargé in Denmark (Perkins) to the Secretary of State
[Received April 23.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to the Department’s telegram No. 41 of March 12, 6 p.m. and to state that I called on the Foreign Minister8 on the regular diplomatic day, March 17th, in order to avail myself of the authorization given to inform Mr. Scavenius of the substance of the Department’s telegram regarding Greenland. I mentioned to Mr. Scavenius my previous call on March 3rd when he had inquired concerning certain press reports that it was the intention of the American Government to establish air bases in Greenland. I recalled that on that occasion I had told him the only information in my possession was that contained in the Department’s press release of January 9th.9 A copy of this press release had been given to Mr. Scavenius sometime previously.
I then said that I had recently received a telegram from the Department of State9a informing me that Minister Kauffmann in Washington had raised two questions with the Department: (1) as to a report that the American Government had declared Greenland to be in the Western Hemisphere and consequently within the sphere of American interest, and (2) as to reports that our Government contemplated establishing air bases in Greenland.
With reference to point (1), I started to explain that this question had come up in 1920 when the American Government had stated that it did not recognize the existence of the right of any third government to acquire Greenland in case Denmark wished to dispose of that colony. Mr. Scavenius hardly waited for a full explanation, indicating that he fully understood this matter as an old question already fully disposed of.
[Page 41]With regard to point (2), I then said that the Department had informed Mr. Kauffmann that press reports about our intention to establish air bases were “purely speculative” but that the Department had also taken occasion to say to him that for a long time the American Government had been committed to a policy of hemisphere defence and that, in case of an attack upon the American continent or the Western Hemisphere, our Government within the scope of this policy would feel free to take whatever measures it deemed necessary for national or continental defence. The Foreign Minister, who throughout the whole conversation was most urbane and affable, made no protest or evidenced any opposition to the position as thus defined. However, he referred to the phraseology as somewhat “equivocal” and asked whether it meant that the American Government would not take measures to establish air bases in case there was no danger of a German attack. I replied that the Department had not named any country in particular as being likely to make such an attack and that I did not feel that I could undertake to elaborate or interpret the Department’s statement which I presumed had been made as definite as was practicable in the circumstances. He then asked me if I could give him a written statement of the Department’s position. I replied that I was authorized only to give him an oral account as the Department had already communicated the position of the American Government to Mr. Kauffmann from whom he would presumably receive a communication.
Mr. Scavenius then went on to refer to Greenland in a rather depreciative way as being only a region of icebergs and indicated his full appreciation of the position of the American Government with regard to its own defence needs. Then, to my great surprise, he undertook to draw a parallel between the position of the American Government in thus caring for its defence with the position of the German Government which had deemed it necessary to occupy Denmark in order to forestall its occupation by the British. For the moment, I almost felt as if I might be speaking with the German Minister of Foreign Affairs instead of the Danish. At no time in the course of the interview did the Foreign Minister signify in any way that he had instructed Mr. Kauffmann to raise these two questions with the Department or did he indicate that he had received or expected to receive any message from Mr. Kauffmann. However, I had a very definite feeling that he had already received a communication on the subject and chose not to tell me about it. In this, however, I may be doing him an injustice.
Respectfully yours,